SharePoint Online Limits in 2026
Updated June 2026 with current Microsoft Learn figures, the new OneDrive licensed-quota enforcement (MC1310684), and Microsoft 365 Archive file-level archive GA.
Every SharePoint Online tenant in 2026 starts with 1 TB of pooled storage plus 10 GB per licensed user. Individual sites cap at 25 TB. A single file can be 250 GB. A list or library can hold up to 30 million items. OneDrive is sized per-licence: 1 TB on most plans, 2 GB on F3, expandable to 5 TB on E3 and E5. This guide is the current Microsoft-documented reference for SharePoint Online and OneDrive for Business limits, refreshed against the Microsoft Learn service descriptions in June 2026, with the practical "what to do when you hit one" guidance at the end.
If you are here because something has already broken, jump to When You Hit a Limit - What to Do. If you are planning ahead, read on.
SharePoint Online Tenant Storage by Plan
Tenant storage in SharePoint Online is pooled across all sites and shared with Microsoft Teams files and the Preservation Hold Library. Microsoft's current formula is the same across most commercial plans, with one exception for Frontline F1/F3.
| Plan | Tenant storage formula |
|---|---|
| Microsoft 365 Business Basic / Standard / Premium | 1 TB + 10 GB per licensed user |
| Microsoft 365 Enterprise E3, E5, A3, A5, G3, G5 | 1 TB + 10 GB per licensed user |
| Office 365 E1, E3, E5, A1, A3, A5, G1, G3, G5 | 1 TB + 10 GB per licensed user |
| Microsoft 365 F1 / F3, Office 365 F3 | 1 TB flat (no per-user addition) |
| SharePoint Plan 1 or Plan 2 (standalone) | 1 TB + 10 GB per licensed user |
| Microsoft Teams Essentials | 10 GB per user |
Worked examples on the per-user formula:
| Licensed users | Tenant storage |
|---|---|
| 100 | 1 TB + 1 TB = 2 TB |
| 500 | 1 TB + 5 TB = 6 TB |
| 1,000 | 1 TB + 10 TB = 11 TB |
| 10,000 | 1 TB + 100 TB = 101 TB |
| 100,000 | 1 TB + 1,000 TB = 1,001 TB |
Visio Plan 2 and Project Plan 3/5 add approximately 10 GB per licence to the SharePoint pool. The OneDrive created for each licensed user does not consume tenant SharePoint storage - it is provisioned separately (see the OneDrive section below).
You can purchase additional storage in 1 GB increments at Microsoft's published overage rate of $0.20 per GB per month. There is no fixed upper bound on the additional storage you can buy. Microsoft also notes that tenants operating above their storage limit are at risk of read-only mode until usage is reduced or capacity is added.
OneDrive for Business Storage by Plan
OneDrive storage is provisioned per licensed user, separately from the SharePoint tenant pool. The default is 1 TB for most plans, with two notable exceptions.
| Plan | Default OneDrive storage | Expandable to |
|---|---|---|
| OneDrive Plan 1 | 1 TB per user | 1 TB |
| Microsoft 365 Business Basic | 1 TB per user | 1 TB |
| Microsoft 365 Business Standard | 1 TB per user | 1 TB |
| Microsoft 365 Business Premium | 1 TB per user | 1 TB |
| Microsoft 365 E3 | 1 TB per user | 5 TB |
| Microsoft 365 E5 | 1 TB per user | 5 TB |
| Microsoft 365 F3 | 2 GB per user | 2 GB |
To expand a user above 1 TB on E3 or E5, an administrator changes the default storage in the SharePoint admin centre or sets the quota with Set-SPOSite -StorageQuota. Microsoft documents a path beyond 5 TB to a maximum of 25 TB per user - but only when the organisation holds at least five OneDrive Plan 2 (or equivalent) licences, at least one is assigned to the user requesting the increase, and the user's OneDrive is at least 90% full.
Important 2026 change. Microsoft is rolling out a quota-enforcement fix between early July 2026 and mid-July 2026 under Message Centre post MC1310684. Until now, administrators could raise per-user OneDrive quotas above the licensed entitlement and the increase would persist through quota refreshes. After the rollout, the applied quota is brought back into line with the licence entitlement on the next refresh - and any user whose stored content exceeds the licensed amount is placed into a read-only state until they reduce usage or are upgraded. See OneDrive quota enforcement July 2026 (MC1310684) for the full remediation playbook.
Per-Site (Site Collection) Storage
| Limit | Value |
|---|---|
| Maximum storage per site (site collection) | 25 TB |
| Site collections per organisation | 2 million |
| Users per site collection | 2 million |
A site can be set to a hard quota lower than 25 TB by administrator. If tenant storage management is set to "Automatic", individual sites can exceed their per-site quota as long as the tenant pool has headroom - this is by design, not a bug. To force a hard cap per site, switch the tenant to "Manual" storage management.
File Size, Upload, and Path Limits
| Limit | Value |
|---|---|
| File upload size (Teams Files, SharePoint libraries, OneDrive folders, Viva Engage) | 250 GB |
| File attached to a list item | 250 MB |
| ZIP file generated when downloading multiple files | 20 GB |
| Decoded file path length (folder path + file name combined) | 400 characters |
The 250 GB file upload limit is uniform across the modern web UI, the OneDrive sync client, the SharePoint mobile apps, the Teams Files tab, and the Microsoft Graph API. The 400-character path limit applies after URL decoding, so a heavily-encoded path can fail even when the visible URL is shorter.
Items in Lists and Libraries
| Limit | Value |
|---|---|
| Items per list | 30 million |
| Files and folders per library | 30 million |
| Items above which you can't break inheritance on the list/library/folder | 100,000 |
| Unique permissions per list or library (supported) | 50,000 |
| Unique permissions per list or library (recommended) | 5,000 |
The 5,000 list view threshold still exists but it is not a hard cap on item count - it is the point at which list views, queries, and search performance start to degrade. Indexed columns mitigate the impact up to 20,000 items in a single view. Above 100,000 items in a single list, library, or folder, you lose the ability to break or reinherit permissions at that level (though item-level permissions still work).
Lists, Libraries, Subsites, and Hub Sites
| Limit | Value |
|---|---|
| Lists and libraries combined per site collection | 2,000 |
| Subsites per site collection | 2,000 |
| Child links per navigation level (site, hub, global, footer) | 500 |
| Hub sites per organisation | 2,000 |
| SharePoint apps (instances per organisation) | 20,000 |
Microsoft explicitly recommends hub sites over subsites for new architectures: "We recommend creating sites and organising them into hubs instead of creating subsites." Subsites are still supported but a heavily-trafficked site with many subsites is a common cause of performance and management issues.
SharePoint Groups and Permissions
| Limit | Value |
|---|---|
| SharePoint groups per site collection | 10,000 |
| Users per SharePoint group | 5,000 |
| Group memberships per user per site collection | 5,000 |
These limits are independent of Microsoft Entra ID group limits, which have their own constraints. For very large estates, hitting the SharePoint-side group limits is rare; the Entra ID limits typically bind first.
Version History
| Limit | Value |
|---|---|
| Major versions per file | 50,000 |
| Minor versions per file | 511 |
Version history is the single largest hidden driver of SharePoint storage growth in document-heavy tenants. The default major-version limit on a new library is 500, but it can be raised or lowered. High-version libraries (CAD assemblies, frequently-edited PowerPoints, source-controlled files) consume storage exponentially relative to the underlying content.
Sync Limits (OneDrive and Team Sites)
For the OneDrive sync client (OneDrive.exe on Windows and Mac):
- Microsoft recommends syncing no more than 300,000 files in a single OneDrive or team site library for optimal performance.
- The same 300,000-file soft cap applies cumulatively across all libraries a user is syncing. This includes files surfaced through synced shortcut folders.
The soft cap is a performance recommendation rather than a hard block - the sync client will continue to operate above it, but reliability and speed degrade. The standard mitigations are unselected sync (Files On-Demand) and scoping which libraries are synced per user.
Moving and Copying Across Sites
| Limit | Value |
|---|---|
| Total file size in a single move or copy operation | 100 GB |
| Number of files in a single move or copy operation | 30,000 |
| Maximum size of a OneNote file in a move/copy | 2 GB |
| Maximum file size in a cross-geo move or copy | 15 GB |
These apply to the Move To / Copy To actions in SharePoint and OneDrive, as well as the equivalent operations across SharePoint Embedded containers. Large migrations need to be broken into batches that fit under the 100 GB / 30,000-file thresholds, or run with a tool that handles batching.
Hold and Retention Policy Limits
| Limit | Value |
|---|---|
| Maximum holds when all SharePoint or OneDrive sites are included | 13 |
| Maximum holds when specific SharePoint or OneDrive sites are included or excluded | 2,600 |
| Compliance policy limit per tenant (combined across DLP, retention, information barriers, sensitivity labels) | 10,000 |
The combined 10,000-policy ceiling is rarely hit unless you have an aggressive Purview implementation. The narrower per-scope hold limits (13 for tenant-wide, 2,600 for site-specific) tend to bind first in large estates with active eDiscovery cases.
Managed Metadata and Term Store
| Limit | Value |
|---|---|
| Total terms (global + site-level combined) | 1,000,000 |
| Total term labels | 2,000,000 |
| Total term properties | 1,000,000 |
| Global term sets | 1,000 |
| Global term groups | 1,000 |
| Recommended maximum default terms per managed-metadata column | 50 |
Setting more than the recommended 50 default terms on a managed-metadata column still tags new items at upload, but downstream experiences (notably SharePoint Search) are not guaranteed to function correctly above that limit.
What Changed in 2026
Two limit-relevant changes landed in the first half of 2026 that older guides do not reflect:
OneDrive licensed-quota enforcement (MC1310684). Microsoft is bringing applied OneDrive quotas back into line with the underlying licence entitlement. Tenants that previously set per-user quotas above the entitlement will see those reductions applied during the early July - mid-July 2026 rollout, and users above the licensed amount transition to read-only state until usage is brought back below. Full breakdown: OneDrive quota enforcement July 2026 (MC1310684).
Microsoft 365 Archive file-level archive (GA late June - late July 2026). Microsoft is rolling general availability of file-level archive in Microsoft 365 Archive between late June and late July 2026 - end users can archive and reactivate individual files in SharePoint sites at a lower-cost tier. There are documented limitations during the preview window across Office Online, macOS OneDrive sync, mobile apps, and certain file types (OneNote, SharePoint pages, Site Assets cannot be archived at all). Full comparison with third-party archiving: Squirrel vs Microsoft 365 Archive in 2026.
When You Hit a Limit - What to Do
Most teams find this page because something has already broken. Here are the practical next steps depending on which limit you are hitting.
- Tenant storage at 95% or over. Read SharePoint storage limit warning - avoid Microsoft overage charges for the immediate remediation flow.
- Storage growing even when you delete files. The cause is almost always the Preservation Hold Library under retention. See what is the Preservation Hold Library in SharePoint for the mechanism, and how to reduce SharePoint Preservation Hold Library storage costs for the playbook.
- A specific site over its per-site quota. Use how to check SharePoint storage size to find where the bytes actually sit, then either redistribute, archive cold content, or raise the per-site quota.
- OneDrive accounts over their licensed quota (urgent before July 2026). Use the PowerShell audit in find over-quota OneDrives and SharePoint sites with PowerShell to identify exposure before the read-only enforcement rolls.
- Departed users still consuming OneDrive storage on active licences. Microsoft 365 departed user archiving is the broader pattern. Chipmunk captures the data into the customer's own Azure storage and reclaims the licence.
- List or library above the 5,000 view threshold. Add indexed columns, scope views with filters that use indexed columns, and break large libraries into smaller logical groupings.
- Need to model tenant storage cost before adding more licences. SharePoint vs Azure Blob Storage cost calculator gives the modelled comparison.
- Want to push back the tenant ceiling without paying $0.20/GB overage indefinitely. Squirrel moves cold SharePoint content to the customer's own Azure Blob Storage with stub files left in place across SharePoint, OneDrive sync, and Microsoft Teams - the site stays live, the bytes leave SharePoint, the customer chooses the Azure tier (Hot, Cool, Cold, or Archive).
- Free admin tool to see exactly what is consuming storage. SharePoint Storage Explorer - no email gate.
For the wider M365 storage taxonomy and how these limits interact with Backup, Archive, EOA, retention, and inactive mailboxes, see Microsoft 365 Backup vs Archive vs Retention vs Inactive Mailbox.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the SharePoint Online storage limit per tenant in 2026? 1 TB base plus 10 GB per licensed user on Microsoft 365 Business, Microsoft 365 Enterprise (E3/E5/A3/A5/G3/G5), Office 365 (E1/E3/E5/A1/A3/A5/G1/G3/G5), and standalone SharePoint Plan 1 or Plan 2. Microsoft 365 F1 and F3 plans get a flat 1 TB regardless of user count. Storage above the entitlement is billed at $0.20 per GB per month.
What is the OneDrive storage limit per user in 2026? 1 TB per user on most plans, including Business Basic/Standard/Premium and OneDrive Plan 1. Microsoft 365 E3 and E5 default to 1 TB but can be raised to 5 TB by an administrator, and to 25 TB under specific conditions. Microsoft 365 F3 is capped at 2 GB per user.
What is the SharePoint Online file upload limit? 250 GB per file. This applies uniformly to files uploaded through the SharePoint web UI, the OneDrive sync client, the SharePoint mobile apps, the Teams Files tab, and the Microsoft Graph API. List item attachments are capped at 250 MB.
What is the maximum size of a single SharePoint site? 25 TB per site collection. This is the maximum a site can grow to in any plan. The default quota set by Microsoft on a new site is much lower and is configurable up to the 25 TB cap.
How many items can a SharePoint list or document library hold? Up to 30 million items per list or library. The often-cited "5,000 limit" is the list view threshold, which affects query performance rather than item count - mitigated by indexed columns and filtered views.
Has SharePoint Online's storage limit changed in 2026? The base formula (1 TB + 10 GB per licensed user) is unchanged. The OneDrive licensed-quota enforcement under MC1310684, rolling out in early-to-mid July 2026, changes how individual OneDrive quotas are applied - administrators can no longer keep per-user quotas above the licensed entitlement.
Can I store individual files larger than 250 GB in SharePoint? No. The 250 GB single-file upload limit is a hard service ceiling. Files larger than this need to be stored outside SharePoint, typically in Azure Blob Storage, Azure Files, or a dedicated media service.
What happens when my tenant exceeds its SharePoint storage limit? File uploads start failing, new Teams sites stop provisioning, and Microsoft begins charging the published overage rate of $0.20 per GB per month for storage above the entitlement. Tenants operating significantly above the limit are at risk of read-only mode. See SharePoint storage limit warning for the remediation flow.
How many versions does SharePoint keep by default? The default major-version limit on a new library is 500. Microsoft's hard ceiling is 50,000 major versions and 511 minor versions per file. Version history is the single largest hidden driver of SharePoint storage growth in document-heavy tenants and should be tuned per library based on the content type.
How many files can the OneDrive sync client handle? Microsoft recommends syncing no more than 300,000 files in a single OneDrive or team site library, and no more than 300,000 cumulatively across all libraries a user is syncing. Above that, performance and reliability degrade. Files On-Demand and selective sync are the standard mitigations.
Where is the official Microsoft source for SharePoint Online limits?
Microsoft maintains the canonical reference at learn.microsoft.com under the SharePoint service description and OneDrive service description pages. The figures in this guide are taken from those pages and verified June 2026.
Related reading
- SharePoint storage limit warning - avoid Microsoft overage charges - the troubleshooting flow when you have already hit the ceiling.
- What is the Preservation Hold Library in SharePoint? - the most common reason SharePoint storage grows silently.
- How to reduce SharePoint Preservation Hold Library storage costs - the executive playbook on the cost side.
- OneDrive quota enforcement July 2026 (MC1310684) - the imminent licensed-quota change.
- Find over-quota OneDrives and SharePoint sites with PowerShell - the audit script.
- Microsoft 365 Backup vs Archive vs Retention vs Inactive Mailbox - how SharePoint limits interact with the M365 preservation features.
- Squirrel vs Microsoft 365 Archive in 2026 - the comparison for offloading cold content.
- SharePoint vs Azure Blob Storage cost calculator - model the savings before committing.
